Holiday in Chichester

FRIDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER 

Leaving home just after 10am, we arrived at Cowdray Park at 12.15pm. We had lunch in their lovely cafe, sharing a BLT and some smoked salmon. A nice walk around the polo fields; it started off misty but soon cleared to lovely sunshine. A tour of the shop, and then, because it was so nice and we were in no hurry, we sat outside the cafe for tea and biscuits.

It's not far to Chichester, but we were held up in Midhurst before it was clear all the way to our destination. Arriving at 4pm to unpack. The weather had been mostly sunny and a pleasant 20C.

SATURDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER

While Alison went off to Brighton to see Carolyn and Jem, I had a quiet time watching Mark Kermode's film reviews before walking into town. Outside the cathedral was a poster advertising tours to the top of the spire. In reply to my question to the lady on reception, she told me there were 185 steps. In the past I went on every possible climb to the tops of buildings, but unfortunately this is no longer the case. I always wanted to do the climb over the top of the O2 but should have done that years ago.

I was left with going to the visitor centre and a walk around the town. Two premier rugby matches to watch in the afternoon before Alison arrived back for the England vs Spain game in the evening. The weather had been great and a pleasant 20C.

SUNDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER

A quick walk to the shops for a Sunday paper, and we were off for the Chichester Walls Walk, this time the opposite direction to that of last year. Lots of stops along the way, including Priory Park and The Guildhall.

We ended up at the Bishops Palace Garden at the cathedral, where we found a nice bench or three.

An early lunch at the Cloister's Kitchen in the cathedral grounds. No queue to order our food, unlike how busy it was when we left. Alison stayed in town while I walked back to watch the third ODI against Sri Lanka. Another lovely sunny day, except for a short shower while we were in the cafe. Warm at 21C.

MONDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER

Our day in Brighton. This time we took the car and parked at the Withdean Stadium outside the town. Here there is a park and ride with a regular bus service to the seafront. The only problem is the number of stops along the way, so it's not such a good idea in the end. But the parking in Brighton is astronomic, and there is too long a walk to the front from the station.

We were meeting Caroline at the pier. She is Alison's sister's husband's sister. We wandered down to pick up the Volks Electric Railway for a ride all the way to the end. It's on its 143rd year and closes for the winter at the end of this week; that was lucky: volksrailway.org.

At the end of the line and on the opposite side of the road is The Reading Room cafe, where we had a marvellous lunch, up a level with great views overlooking the seafront.

It was still quite a long walk to Brighton Marina, which was our final destination. I had heard a lot about its construction and had always wanted to see it. Construction only started in 1971, long after I left college in Brighton. Wikipedia has a great history of how it came to be. Was it worth the effort? Definitely, especially since I had no idea what it would be like having done no research beforehand. It is far larger than I imagined.

We sat on one of the benches that line the new perimeter overlooking the boats.

On the Volks Railway back, we were the only passengers. 

We found our bus stop near the seafront; the bus arrived quickly for that too long journey back to Withdean. Even the car journey back was awful; we should have gone by train! But the weather had been great, bright, sunny, and a mild 20°C.

TUESDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER

I was due a rest first thing while Alison went out for a run. By midmorning we were off for a visit to Chichester Cathedral.

While we had been before, we found so much more of interest than on previous visits.

In one of the chapels we were looking at some graffiti, and one of the clergy came and talked to us about it. See the website of English Cathedral's: Chichester's Ancient Graffiti Brought To Life. But I preferred the odd remaining piece of a fresco.

We left at about one, just before an organ recital where the audience was already packing the seats. We picked up things for our lunch and dinner at M&S Food. Then in the afternoon we were off to Bosham, one of our favourite places. The tide was only just starting to go out, so the tiny road along the front was submerged.

Instead, we went into Holy Trinity Church after I sat on one of their many benches to take this photo.

Again, we found things we had never seen on our previous visits. The bell tower dates from Anglo-Saxon times, with the top completed in early Norman. Unfortunately there is no access for visitors, but we could see the ropes for ringing the bells. 

There is a detailed description of the six bells next to the tower door, but not on the internet. Here it is.

A few steps down to the crypt below is Allhallows Chapel. The Crypt was built in the fourteenth century and somewhere else we had not seen before.

A very short walk to the estuary and benches along the green. They were all free, probably because the breeze had become stronger, although it was mild.

A look around the shop and back to the big, now empty, car park. Interestingly, it is not signposted in the route through the village. Dinner at home with England beating Croatia in the Nation's League. Quite a cloudy day, very muggy, and at 21°C it felt much warmer.

WEDNESDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER

A quiet morning meant I was this far with my post for the holiday. Tried to transfer photos from the camera to my laptop and failed. Many times. (Fortunately back home they transferred instantly). Posted three film reviews on my blog. In the evening, dinner at The Ivy in town. Quite a reasonable bill for such a nice place, super food and great service. A bright day with some sun and a warm 20°C.

THURSDAY IST OCTOBER

We had saved our big day in Portsmouth for our last. We parked in the multi-storey near Chichester station, and we took the train to Portsmouth Harbour. 

We walked along the seafront all the way to Southsea Castle. This was where we usually parked the car, so we were going in the opposite direction. Lots of stops along the brand-new promenade. It was all closed off last year as the works were in progress. The £185 million scheme that is really quite something.

Southsea Castle is where we turn round, but not before we sat outside for tea and cake.

A wander back to Gunwharf Keys for a late lunch at Bella Italia. We always seem to find a table next to the seafront. Overlooking the harbour and looking up from my seat to Spinnaker Tower.

The shopping centre is next door, but this time only for some chocolates at the Lindor store. Back at the station we found that trains to Chichester had been cancelled. We decided on taking the bus instead. The number 700 coastliner sounded promising, and we didn't have to wait long. However, it might have been a mistake, as the journey took far longer than the scheduled hour and a quarter. Ours took an hour and forty-five minutes, and there were 55 stops! Back at the car park at 6pm. But we only had to pack, as we had brought our tea with us. It had been a lovely day, sunny, warm and 21C again. 

FRIDAY 2ND OCTOBER

A good journey home via the A3 and M25 with only a short delay on the motorway. That was very lucky.